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Middle East
We need US army, says Turkey’s military chief
2003-03-06
Turkey's armed forces yesterday came out in favour of deploying thousands of US combat troops in the country for a second front against Iraq. Hilmi Ozkok, the chief of general staff, said the motion that was narrowly defeated by the parliament on Saturday was in Turkey's best interests. His unexpected remarks have boosted hopes within the Bush administration that the government will resubmit the Bill within the coming days and that with the generals' support it will be cleared. Gen Ozkok added that a second front in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq would speed up victory and minimise casualties. "The Turkish armed forces' view is the same as the government's," he said. "The war would be shorter, there would be less pain . . . fewer will die."
Awww sweet, less pain
He added that economic aid from the United States in exchange for Turkish support would help mitigate the effects of a war with Turkey's Arab neighbour.
Awww sweet, piles of cash
The Turkish military, which has seized power three times in the past four decades, remains hugely influential and few politicians dare go against its wishes.
But they're not in charge of the country. They don't rule, they just try and make sure it's ruled according to Hoyle, or at least Kemal...
Dozens of US Navy ships are anchored off Turkey's Mediterranean coast waiting to unload tons of equipment and thousands of soldiers who are set to transit through Turkey's largely Kurdish south-eastern provinces into Iraqi Kurdistan. The Bush administration, angered by Saturday's vote, has been threatening to cut Turkey out of its war plans and to create what Western diplomats here call a "northern front line" by parachuting troops into northern Iraq. Those warnings, coupled with the shelving of a $6 billion (£3.9 billion) American aid package, appear to have forced Turkey to rethink its strategy. The US has also indicated that it would oppose any unilateral moves by the Turkish military to enter northern Iraq in the absence of a deployment deal. The pro-establishment daily Milliyet claims that 20,000 Turkish troops have already penetrated the enclave despite fierce opposition from the two main Kurdish factions administering northern Iraq.
Posted by:Bulldog

#1  That was a febrile headline by the Tele. Turkey doesn't need the US Army, it's foreign position might be hurt by not supporting a US alliance.
Posted by: Tom Roberts   2003-03-06 08:22:42  

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